1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an infant seat which converts from a car seat to a stroller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Safety considerations and legislation have made the use of car seats for infants and toddlers more prevalent. Such car seats are secured in either a rearward facing or forward facing position in the automobile depending on the size of the infant.
When away from home, strollers are commonly used to transport babies while the accompanying adult is walking and pushing the stroller. Since strollers are most often used when away from the home, strollers are often stored in the trunk or storage area of an automobile during the ride from the home to the eventual destination.
Baby furniture, such as car seats and strollers, is relatively expensive. Furthermore, the necessity of having both a car seat and stroller requires the occupation of valuable space within an automobile. Therefore, there is a need for an infant seat which is easily converted from a car seat into a stroller.
A number of such convertible car seats have been proposed. However, due to the strict safety requirements for car seats, a number of these structures have proved inadequate while being used as car seats. Further, the previously proposed devices have often resulted in unstable strollers due to very limited wheel bases or awkward handle arrangements, and require either assembly or a cumbersome manual operation to convert from car seat to stroller. Parents have proven to be reluctant to purchase and use such devices when they do not resemble conventional car seats when in the car seat configuration or when they do not resemble conventional strollers when in the stroller configuration.